Scholarships worth more than $400,000 will be made available by the Australia Council for the Arts as part of a three-year deal with Perpetual, one of Australia’s largest managers and distributors of philanthropic funds.

Two of these scholarships have been established with the support of the former NSW Premier, the late Sir Robert Askin, and his wife Lady Mollie Askin. They are The Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship and The Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship, both worth $30,000. These scholarships will be awarded biannually to allow artists to further their career through study and travel in Australia or abroad.

The Australia Council is also once again delivering the Marten Bequest travelling scholarships, named for Sydney theatre artist John Chisholm Marten. Seven young artists across a range of disciplines will receive $50,000 each to develop their craft. Notable past recipients have included author Tim Winton and visual artist Wendy Sharpe.

Australia Council CEO Tony Grybowski said the partnership with Perpetual enables the Australia Council to further grow private, public and philanthropic funds to support the arts. “The Australia Council is delighted to be managing The Marten and Askin Bequests, and opening up opportunities that support Australian artists to build valuable networks...